Westpac note that "bushfires are..........>

AUSTRALIA: Westpac note that "bushfires are currently affecting large parts of

south eastern Australia with elevated risk of further fires in coming weeks. We

estimate total losses to date are likely to be around $5bn - higher than the

2009 bushfires in Victoria but smaller than the Queensland floods in 2010-11.

The economic impact is highly uncertain. Activity in the most severely affected

areas accounts for around 1% of the Australian economy and is focussed on

agriculture and tourism. Initial indications suggest the main direct negative

impacts will be on local tourism activity with potential disruptions from smoke

pollution affecting the major capital cities. Indirect effects through a hit to

confidence and impacts on the wider tourism industry are much harder to assess

but could be similar in scale. Our balance we see a total GDP impact of

0.2-0.5%."